Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience
Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience
Process vs Thread
Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience
Process vs Thread?
Memory Space
A process is an independent
and self-contained unit of
execution
A process has it’s own main
thread, so your program is a A thread is the smallest unit
thread. of execution within a process
Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience
Process vs Thread - Definition
• Process: A process is an independent and self-
contained unit of execution in a computer
system. It is an instance of a running program
that includes its own memory space, resources,
and system state.
• Thread: A thread is the smallest unit of
execution within a process. It shares the same
resources and memory space as other threads
within the same process.
Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience
Process vs Thread – Memory Space
• Process: Each process has its own separate
memory space. Processes do not share memory with
other processes by default.
• Thread: Threads within the same process share
the same memory space. They can directly access
the memory of other threads within the same
process.
Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience
Process vs Thread – Resource
Allocation
• Process: Processes are allocated system
resources, including CPU time, memory, file
handles, and more. Each process operates
independently of other processes.
• Thread: Threads within a process share the same
resources. They can efficiently communicate with
each other through shared memory.
Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience
Process vs Thread – Communication
• Process: Inter-process communication (IPC)
mechanisms, such as message passing or shared
memory, are required for processes to
communicate with each other.
• Thread: Threads within the same process can
communicate directly through shared variables
and data structures. No special mechanisms are
required for communication.
Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience
Process vs Thread – Isolation
• Process: Processes are isolated from each other,
meaning that the failure of one process does not
affect the execution of other processes.
• Thread: Threads within the same process are not
fully isolated. The failure of one thread can
potentially affect the entire process.
Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience
Process vs Thread – Overhead
• Process: Processes have a higher overhead
compared to threads due to the isolation and
resource allocation.
• Thread: Threads have lower overhead compared to
processes because they share resources and
memory.
Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience
Process vs Thread – Creation and
Termination
• Process: Creating and terminating processes is
generally more time-consuming than creating and
terminating threads.
• Thread: Creating and terminating threads is
generally faster than creating and terminating
processes.
Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience
Copyright© 2023 Mohammed Abu-Hadhoud
[Link] MBA, PMOC, PgMP®, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, CM, ITILF, MCPD, MCSD
26+ years of experience